Neither in Pristina, nor in Tirana, no one asks the question: why the Vatican does not recognize the Republic of Kosovo? Neither the politicians, nor the diplomats, nor the foreign ministers, nor the chairmen of the commissions for foreign policy, nor the other Albanian ministers and MPs wherever they are, do not touch this issue at all. Even the many analysts on both sides of the border who bombard us every night with their "competent" "analyses" on foreign and domestic politics, do not refer at all to the issue of (non)recognition of Kosovo by the Vatican. They are silent as if it did not exist!

Well, more than 14 years have passed since the declaration of Kosovo as an independent and sovereign state on February 17, 2008. In the meantime, independent Kosovo has been recognized by over a hundred countries of the world (some say 117, some say less), including the United States of America, Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, etc., while the Vatican, surprisingly (for reasons we don't know; we have no way of knowing!), is not making even the slightest fuss this way. (The last country that recognized us about two years ago, but with conditions - the condition was the placement of the Kosovo embassy in Jerusalem and not in Tel-Aviv - is Israel).

In these twenty or so years from the liberation of Kosovo onwards, in addition to Ibrahim Rugova (more than once), Hashim Thaçi, Sali Berisha, Fatos Nano, Bujar Nishani, Edi Rama, Isa Mustafa, have visited the Pope in Rome. Ramush Haradinaj, Atifete Jahjaga and others (the list could be even longer), but none of them, with a single word, asked the head of the Holy See to recognize the Republic of Kosovo as a state. They have given gifts, invitations to visit, they have generally talked about good relations with the Holy See, etc., but they have kept silent or overlooked the main issue: that of recognition of Kosovo by the Vatican!

The first who is taking this step, openly and without hesitation, is the newly elected President of Albania (he assumed this position a few months ago), Bajram Begaj. During the visit he made these days to the Holy See, where he was received by its head, Pope Francis II, President Begaj, as reported, asked the host, Pope Francis, for the recognition of Kosovo as a state by the Vatican.

This was announced by the head of the Albanian state himself in an interview with the Italian media (in the well-known newspaper "Il Tempo"). It is also announced that Mr. Begaj said on this occasion that "the Pope's role is important for the Western Balkans" and that "the Pope's attention to Kosovo would greatly help the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue".

Considering this fact, as well as the role of the Holy See in general in the world, these two emphasis of the speech of the Albanian President gain even greater weight.

Mr. Bajram Begaj is at the beginning of his term as president of the Republic of Albania. We do not know how he will behave later and how much space he will have to act, but his first important visit abroad (to the Vatican), as well as his dignified behavior in the meeting with the Head of the Holy See and, in particular, the request for the recognition of the Republic of Kosovo as a state by the Vatican heralds a good start.

We wish that President Begaj, a man who came to the position of head of state from the army (after a long and successful career as a soldier), continue his mandate by putting state and national interests first and not thinking about his political career, as most Albanian politicians have acted and are acting.

(Source: Gazeta Dita)